Christopher MacGovern
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
As a relationship psychotherapist working in both the NHS and in private practice I specialise in couple relationships and the impact of stressed relationships on individuals through to families. My experience includes helping over 1000 clients make their relationships work. And the vast majority say that our work together has contributed to significant and beneficial change in their lives. While I believe success comes from professional skills (I am a fully qualified Systemic Psychotherapist), I also believe that the main contributor is teamwork, building a great partnership with my clients. And perhaps a good dose of pragmatism borrowed from a previous career in the business world.
So if you are ready for change, call me on 07500 582 526 - chris@macgovern.net
FOR COUPLES ...
How counselling with Chris MacGovern can help me?
If you want to save the relationship, I will work with you to find a way forward:
- Breath new life into emotionally and sexually dormant relationships.
- Find better conflict management strategies. Learn to rebuild trust or recover from an affair.
- Have fun again.
If you are not sure your relationship is right for you, my job is to help you make the right decisions.
Will it work?
The good news is that if you arrive ready to do good work on your relationship, my experience and that of my clients suggests that you will probably succeed.
FOR INDIVIDUALS ...
Can I discuss relationships in counselling on my own?
Yes, and currently about 40% of my clients do. For some it is more about them as an individual, coping with stress etc. For others it is more about facilitating their relationships with others.
- Exploring finding or maintaining relationships. Preparing for a break up. Working with a partner who won’t attend.
- Gay or lesbian aspects of personality.
- The big one, addressing issues with our families. Which can include working with your entire family.
Will it work?
Good relationship skills can be learnt. Hindrances can be explored and challenged. Previous losses or hurts can be dealt with.
So yes it can and my experience with my clients is that it does.
Training, qualifications & experience
Training:
My ongoing training helps ensure that I engage with latest research and thinking. Insight from previous employment helps ground me in the reality of my clients experience of career as a professional or business owner. Working both in the NHS and as a clinical supervisor ensures I get lots of feedback on my practice beyond that available in purely private work. This helps me question and stay fresh with my ideas about what might help my clients.
Qualifying training:
- MSc in systemic psychotherapy (2007) for working with individuals, couples and families. (Birkbeck College London).
The path to this psychotherapy qualifying training included Relate’s relationship therapy diploma and their clinical supervision certificate. Prior to this I trained as a product designer and worked developing and marketing systems for financial technology companies.
Member organisations
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).
Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.
Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.
All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£100.00 - £140.00
Additional information
Individual therapy: £100/session
Couple therapy: £120/session
Family therapy: £140/session
When I work
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I offer private sessions from Monday to Thursday each week:
- In Wimbledon Mon-Thur am and Tue evenings.
- Sessions can be online via zoom or in person in Wimbledon.
Further information
SUCCESSFULL THERAPY IS ABOUT BUILDING A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUR THERAPIST:
Initial Consultation – your first session:
This is a structured session in which I both collect background information on you and your relationship, and clarify your definition of your problems and the changes you are looking for. I check that I am appropriatly qualified for this work and in turn, you check that you feel we can work comfortably together.
Subsequent ongoing sessions:
Sessions are weekly, lasting fifty minutes and continue for as long as we feel they are helpful. While much of my work is short term (6-10 sessions) some clients choose to work longer (a year or more) on deeper or more fundamental change.
What will a typical session involve:
Our work together will often be lively in tone, combining reflection and understanding as we explore present, past and hoped for future relationships. It will utilise both psychodynamic and systemic theories. Additionally we will measure your progress on a weekly basis using latest techniques.
How bad does it have to be?
Research shows that the quality of our close relationships has a major impact on the most fundamental aspects of our lives. So its worth investing in them.
